Love Me More
by starsinjars
Summary: In which Sam and Castiel battle for a four-year-old Dean's affection and try to give him the childhood he never had.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Love Me More

Summary: In which Sam and Castiel battle for a four-year-old Dean's affection and try to give him the childhood he never had.

A/N: I don't know much about four year olds.

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Sam bit his lip, a prayer on the tip of his tongue dying just as he heard the sound of wings.

"Something has happened."

The unspoken _to Dean _didn't escape Sam. Regardless, he still breathed a sigh of relief at the appearance of his brother's angel. He wondered how the angel knew they were in trouble before he even said a prayer, but then again, this was concerning Dean after all. Profound bond and all that.

Castiel turned to the younger Winchester, when a small gasp came from the bed that Sam was sitting on. The angel got a glimpse of green before it went hiding behind Sam. "Who's that?" asked a high-pitched voice that Castiel did not recognize.

"That's Cas, your guardian angel," Sam introduced gently to the child peeking at Castiel with him as the barrier between them.

The child stared at Castiel, wide green eyes brimming with curiosity and fascination. "Mama always said that angels were watching over me," he whispered breathlessly, eyes never leaving Castiel. "Where are your wings?" he asked.

Sam looked at Cas then the child, before going back again. "Why don't you tell him your name?" he suggested, seeing that it would make the explanation just go that much better.

"'m Dean," Dean said shyly behind Sam, making a cautious appearance.

Castiel just stared at the young Dean in front of him.

Dean blushed and hid behind Sam, who then pat him on the head. "Why don't you go watch TV while I speak to Cas?" he suggested, to which Dean nodded as he carefully slid down Sam's back, off the bed and dashed past Castiel to reach the couch.

As soon as the white noise of a cartoon was playing in the background, Castiel immediately turned to Sam. "What have you done?"

Sam answered by removing a piece of parchment from his pocket and handing it to him. It was written in Japanese characters, Castiel reading it as Sam explained. "We were out of options," he started, speaking low so that Dean at the other side of the room would pay no attention to them. "We were searching for something - anything - that could help us so that we couldn't be vessels for your generals. We found a book that suggested altering our souls so that angels couldn't claim our bodies from what Bobby translated for us. Dean insisted that he goes first just in case anything went wrong." He looked to his brother, fascinated with the colors on the screen. "And well... Dean ended up like that."

Castiel was shell-shocked. "What do you mean 'alter your souls'?" he demanded.

"It wasn't very clear, but we were out of options," Sam said, keeping an eye on Dean. "He doesn't remember anything about being an adult."

The sound of Dean laughing at the show he was watching brought both of them to his attention. When has Dean ever laughed when it wasn't sarcastically or bitterly? They kept quiet as Dean giggled, needing to hear him. There was something so light-hearted about it that made Sam and Castiel smile.

"But I did not know you could be so foolish," said Castiel after Dean had quieted down. "This spell would have your body altered to match the purity of your soul."

"So why is Dean a kid?" asked Sam.

"Dean is the Righteous Man. And children have the purest of souls. That is most likely why he ended up as a child," Castiel explained. "Although your brother is a special case, the spell would be rather limited with the amount of energy his soul would radiate."

Sam nodded. "I told him that I was his uncle. He has to be younger than four; I don't think he knows anything about me or having a brother."

"Perhaps," Castiel replied, glancing over at Dean and making a quick assessment. "The spell may have tampered with his memories and reverted his mental state to a time before he realized he had a younger brother."

Sam nodded thoughtfully. "That's what I was thinking. Well now he's away from our father and the horrors that hunting has to offer..." And free from their dilemma, and memories of Hell and other painful things like Sam's betrayal and most thoughts Sam wishes he could forget.

"In a way, I think it's better this way," Sam said, Castiel looking to the now eldest Winchester. "Now I could pay back Dean for all that he's done for me. Let him actually be selfish and happy for once."

Castiel nodded, allowing for a small smile to grace his face.

Sam turned back to Castiel with a frown on his face. "Is there any way to reverse it?"

Castiel shook his head, looking over the parchment. "It does not say, but it would be impossible without causing harm to Dean's soul. On the other hand, I am sure that Michael would not like to battle Lucifer in the body of a child." Castiel looked to Sam, waiting for an answer to his unspoken question.

Sam scoffed. "There is no way I would ever say yes, especially with the state Dean is in now."

The angel nodded, satisfied with his answer. "I will remain with Dean to make sure that he is safe until there is a way to reverse it."

Sam frowned. "No, that's fine. I can handle this."

Ignoring Sam, Castiel walked over to Dean, taking a seat next to him on the couch. Dean looked over to Castiel, who placed his hand on his head. "I will remain by your side," he told him, Dean smiling in reply.

"Okay, but where's Uncle Sammy's guardian angel?" Dean asked, looking around. "Are angels watching over Uncle Sammy too?"

Sam and Castiel shared a look. "It's okay," said Sam softly. "Don't worry about it, Dean."

Dean pouted and crossed his arms. "But I wanted to see Uncle Sammy's guardian angel," he said with a frown on his face.

"It's nothing to worry about, Dean," Castiel said, Sam nodding in agreement.

Dean looked to Castiel. "Okay," he said dejectedly.

Everyone remained quiet, not knowing what else to say, with the television still playing in the background. Sam moved to sit on the couch, placing Dean in the middle between his "Uncle" and his guardian angel.

"Whatcha watching, Dean?" Sam asked, curious if Dean understood what was on the screen.

"Ummm..." Dean looked to Sam, the screen then back to Sam. "Pretty colors!"

Sam laughed; he had no idea what they were watching but he had to admit the color scheme was pretty.

Castiel frowned. "How is this show amusing if it is solely about colors?"

Leave it to Cas to take everything literally. Before Sam could correct him, Dean cried out, "No! The colors are pretty! Pretty colors!"

For the first time since Sam had met Castiel, the angel chuckled. "Indeed, Dean. The colors are indeed pretty." Dean smiled at him, then rested his head on Sam's lap.

It was faint, but Sam recognized the sound of a rumbling tummy when he heard it. Sam smiled, picking Dean up and tickling his stomach. "Hey, are you hungry?"

Dean brightened up immediately with the sound of food. "Yes!" he laughed, squirming to be free from Sam's fingers.

Sam smiled and grabbed the car keys from the table. Dean took hold of Castiel and Sam's hand, and swung them back and forth as they made their way to his Impala.

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A/N: I have no idea where to go from here. If you have any suggestions, feel free to tell me.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry this is so late - updates should be better in the future.

If Dean doesn't seem to have the mentality of a four year old, it's because I really don't know how four year olds act. Also, this chapter really kinda sets up the plot, but don't worry, there'll still be loads of fluff before anything intense happens.

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With the sound of a bell chime, Sam and Castiel entered the diner with Dean riding on Castiel's shoulders.

"What are you hungry for, Dean?" Sam asked as he flagged down a waitress, following her to their booth.

"Pie!" exclaimed Dean, pointing at the glass case full of the pastry.

Sam smiled as Dean slid into the booth. Both Sam and Castiel wanted to sit next to Dean, and tried to passive aggressively fight their way to the seat Dean picked.

"Cas, sit next to me!"

Well that settles that.

"No, Dean. No dessert before breakfast," Sam said as he slid across from his now younger brother.

"Awww. You're just saying that." Dean pouted as he latched onto the angel, causing for Castiel to look at Sam.

"Dean needs pie," he stated.

"Later," Sam replied before picking up a menu the waitress left for them. "First let's get something nutritious for a growing boy."

"Cas, I need pie. I need it or I will explode." He removed himself from Castiel and casually added, "That happens to me sometimes."

Castiel widens his eyes in horror. "Sam, Dean -"

"Is just being dramatic." He waved Castiel off, inspecting the menu. Dean frowned as he looked at something past his now older but not known to him brother. "Uncle Sammy," he started but Sam flagged down their waitress. The waitress named Cindy - Sam noticed since Dean wouldn't - came over to them with a pen and pad. "How about some whole wheat toast with an egg white omelet, Dean?" Sam asked. Cindy began to write down the order, but Dean shook his head.

"I want chocolate chip pancakes," he told the waitress. "Please," he added politely.

Cindy looked over to Sam for approval. He shook his head, and opened his mouth to speak, but Castiel interrupted, "He may have the pancakes."

Cindy nodded as Sam sighed, but resigned to letting Dean eat an unhealthy breakfast. "I'll have toast and omelette then," he said as he collected the menus and handed them to her.

"And for you?" She looked to Castiel who shook his head.

"I don't -"

"Cas is gonna share with me!" Dean proclaimed, standing triumphantly from his seat. "He's my guardian angel, you know," he told her in all seriousness.

Cindy chuckled. "I bet he is." She went over their order before walking off to give it to the kitchen. She quickly came back with a piece of paper and a basket of crayons.

"I forgot to give this to you; here you are, sweetie." She handed them to Dean, who took it eagerly.

"Yay!" he exclaimed and was soon off coloring, leaving Castiel and Sam to their own devices.

"What do you plan to do now?" Castiel asked Sam who was watching his brother with a smile on his face.

Sam turned his attention to Castiel and shrugged. "I suppose we have to take a break from hunting if not stop at all; Bobby already knows about the situation."

Castiel started to nod but frowned instead. "This situation with Dean is problematic."

Dean perked up at hearing his name, and looked up to see Sam reply, "Perhaps, or it could be a blessing in disguise.

There was a moment of silence so Dean waved his what seemed to be a picture of a pony that was on the TV earlier. "I used purple for Twilight!" he declared, looking at them for compliments.

The two adults looked over to Dean and smiled. "Looks exactly like her," Sam said.

Castiel nodded. "Very purple, Dean."

Dean beamed. "Thank you!" He went back to his drawing.

"It would be for the best," Castiel said as he watched Dean start with the blue.

Sam nodded. "So you're here to stay, Cas?"

Castiel nodded as well. "I am here to stay."

"Finished!"

Both of them turned to Dean, who in addition to the blue has added orange to the mix. "Cas." He pointed to the purple. "Uncle Sammy." He pointed to the orange. "Me!" He pointed to the blue.

"I guess we're ponies then," Sam said with a chuckle while Castiel nodded and smiled. Dean beamed at the two, grinning widely as he started drawing red apples, sparkles and a rather limited rainbow. The pair watched Dean silently, who was too engrossed in his activity to notice the gazes.

Luckily the diner was practically empty, so it wasn't long before Cindy was walking over with a tray of food.

"Here you are, fresh from the kitchen." She placed the omelet and toast in front of Sam first before giving Dean his pancakes was about to place down syrup. Sam waved the syrup away, not wanting Dean to have a sugar overload. "Enjoy!" She gave a wink before leaving, but it was left unnoticed as Dean gushed over his food.

"Wait wait, Dean," Sam said, pulling the plate towards him and his own to the side. "Let me cut this up for you."

Dean pouted. "I can do it myself, Uncle Sammy," he said, reaching out for a knife.

"No!" Castiel snatched the knife Dean was reaching for and kept it far away from the child. "No knives, Dean. Knives are dangerous instruments that you no longer need to wield."

Confused, Dean was about to retort but Sam interrupted with a "Finished!" and pushed the plate back towards Dean.

The little squabble seemed to be forgotten as Dean just smiled happily. "Thank you, Uncle Sammy. Here, Cas!" Dean carefully pushed the plate with a stack of now cut chocolate chip pancakes in the middle of their side of the table before picking up his fork as Castiel picked up his own. Dean ate quickly, but made sure to leave some for Castiel, who was taking his time with his bites. Dean noticed and paused. "Everything okay, Cas?"

Castiel stared at a forkful of pancake. "It tastes like… molecules."

Sam raised an eyebrow as he paused mid-bite. "Maw-leh-kewls?" Dean tried to pronounce. "What's that?"

"A molecule is a group of atoms bonded together, representing the smallest fundamental unit of a chemical compound that can take part in a chemical reaction," Castiel recited, as if reading from a dictionary.

Dean just blinked. Sam sighed. "He means it tastes so good, he wants to enjoy it slowly."

"Oh, okay!" About half of the pancakes were left, so Dean pushed the plate to Castiel. "Here you go! You can have the rest!" He then proceeded to hum to himself while kicking his little feet above the ground.

Sam and Castiel smiled, even as a child Dean was so selfless. "Why thank you, Dean," said the angel. "But are you sure you do not want to eat anymore?"

"Saving room for pie!" Dean answered, pointing at the display case by the door. "Please, Uncle Sammy? Can we get pie?"

"We most certainly can, and we most certainly shall," replied Sam, flagging down Cindy. Castiel slowly made his way through the pancakes, making odd faces as he finished them.

"The molecules, they taste so..."

"Molecular?" Sam supplied just as Cindy made it to their table.

"I want apple!" Dean exclaimed, causing for Sam to request a slice of apple pie for his now younger brother. Cindy said she'd be right out with it as soon as the fresh one was out of the oven.

As they waited for the pie, Dean crawled under the table and to Sam's side of the booth. Castiel frowned while Sam grinned. Dean took no notice of this as he reached over for his paper and crayons.

Dean flipped the paper over and started coloring some more, this time what seems to be a rainbow pie shared by all three of them.

Suddenly, Dean paused.

"What's wrong, Dean?" Sam asked, starting to become concerned.

"Bathroom," Dean said, making his way to get up. Castiel started to get up as well, but paused when Dean looked back to them.

"I can do it myself, Cas," he mumbled. Castiel slowly started to sit back down. Dean smiled as he got up to make his way to the restroom.

"I really don't like this," Castiel said after a moment, watching as an older man picked himself up from his table and followed after Dean.

"Relax, Cas," Sam said. "Dean's a big boy – kinda - and he might have been a little embarrassed if you had to come with him to go potty."

"Not Dean, that man." Castiel glared at the bathroom door that closed. "There's something off about him."

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Dean hummed to himself as he relieved himself, and was still humming as he washed his hands.

"Dean."

Dean jumped, sloshing water all over his shirt. He turned to see an elderly man smiling at him.

"Y-yes?" Dean tilted his head, getting a warm, familiar feeling from the man. "Do I know you?"

"Yes and no." The man sighed. "You shouldn't have done what you did, Dean. You're more vulnerable now. But it's okay, I'm here now." He held out his hand for Dean to take.

Dean felt like he should take it, but knew better than to. "M' Uncle Sammy told me not to talk to strangers…" he mumbled, looking away. He shook his hands to dry them off.

"But we're not strangers, Dean. Don't you remember me? I may not look the same, but I do feel the same, don't I?"

"Well, I do feel like I know you…" Dean said, frowning slightly. "Who are you again?"

The man smiled as he held out his hand again.

"It's me, Michael."

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Dean was taking too long, Castiel and Sam both agreed. They made their way to the restroom together, abandoning the table.

They came just in time to watch Dean about to take the elderly man's hand.

"Dean!" Sam shouted, causing Dean to jump and pull back his hand.

Castiel shoved into the man towards the stalls, eyes widening in realization.

"It can't be…" Castiel breathed.

"Uncle Sammy!" Dean shouted back, making a mad dash to his 'uncle' for a hug, eyes wet with tears.

"They're lying to you, Dean, " the man said. "Remember what I said."

Before Castiel could make another move, the man disappeared.

"Who was that?" Sam asked as he comforted his brother.

Castiel said gravely in reply, "That was Michael. Now that your brother has been exposed, he's going to try harder to get to him."

Sam hugged Dean tightly. "Like we'd ever let that happen."

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A/N: Thanks for reading!


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